Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-01-02
pose. 1t might have been fancy, but over
the sharp line of the North ridge a light
smoke lifted as of an escaping soul.
CHAPTER II.


lake IN Semiclrcular sweep of granite, |
that, lifting itself 5000 feet higher, be- |
came a foundation Tor the eternal SLOWS. |
Inc mountain genii OF space and atmOs- |
phere jealousy guarded its SeClusiOn and /
surrounded it with illusions. it never |
looked 20 be exactly what it was; the !
traveller who saw il from the North ridge
apparently ut his feet in descending found |
himself separated from it by a mile long
abyss and rushing river; those who
sought Ii by seeming direct trail at the
end OF an hour lost sight of it completely,
or, abandoning the quiet and retracing
their steps, suddenly came upon the gap
through which it was entered. That which
from the ridge appeared to he cOpSe of
bushes beside the tiny dwelling were trees
800 feet high; the cultivated lawn before
it, which might have been covered by the
travellers handkerchief was 4 field Of
200 acres.
The house itself was long. low, rrcgu-
lar structure, chiefly of roof ahd veranda,
pictureSquely upheld by rustic pillars Of
pine with the bark still adhering, aud
covered with vines and trailing roses
Yet it was evident that the GOODNESS pro-
duced by this vast extent of cover was
more than the architect, who had planned
| it under the influence of staring aud be-
wildering sky, had trustiully conceived,
for 1t had to be mitigatcd by blazing fires
! in open hearths when the thermometer
marked 100 degrees in the field beyond.
! The dry, restless wind that continually
! rocked the tai maStS of the pines with a
sound like the distant sea, while it Stimu-
| lated outdoor physical eNertiOn and detied
fatigue, left the Sedeutary jewellers in these
attitudes chilled in the shade they courtcd,
or sCOrched them with heat when they
ventured to bask supincly in the sun.
White muslin curtains at the French win
dOwS, and rugs skins and heavy turS dis
pcrSed III the interior, with certain other
charming but incongruous details OF furni-
ture, marked the inconsistencies Of the
climate.
There WAS \ COquettiSh indication of this
in the costume of Miss Kate Scott as she
stepped out on the vcranda that morning.
4 mans brOad-brimmed Panama hat,
partly unSexed by twisted, gayly colorcd
scarf. but retaining enough character Ia
, give piQuancy to the pretty curves of the
face beneath, protected her from the sun,
a red flannel Shirt-anOthcr spoil from the
enemy-aud thick Jacket shielded her
from the auSteritieS OF the morning breeze.
But the next Inconsistency was peculiarly
her own Mis- Kate always wore the
, freshest and lightcst of white cambria
, skirts. without the least reference to the
temperature. To the practical sanatory
circumstances OF her brother-in-law, and
To the conventional criticism of her sister,
, she opposed the same defense: How else
is one TO tell when it is summer in this
ridiculous climate? And then, wooden is
stuffv, color draws the sun, and ore at
least knows when one is clean or dirty"
Artisticallv the result was fur from I'M
satisfactory. 1t was a pretty figure under
the somber pines, against the gray granite
and the stecly sky, and seemed to lend
, the vcllowing fields from which the flowers
had already fled a floral relief of color.
do not think the few masculine way
farers of that locality objected to il; in
deed, some had betrayed an indiSCreet adj
miration, and had curiouSly followed the
invitation of Miss Rates warmly cOlOTcd
figure until they had encountered the in
difference OF Miss Rates cold gray eyes.
With these manifestations her brothcr-ln-
, law did not concern himself; he had per
feet confidence in her unqualified disinter-
est in the ncighbOring humanity, and per
mitted her tn wander in hCr solitary pie
turesuucnesS. or accompanied her when
she rode in her dark green habit, with
equal freedom from anxiety.
For Miss Scott although only % had al
ready subjected most of her mtidcnly illu'
siOns TO mature critical analyses. She had
mother TO California, in the earnest hope
that nature contained something worth
, saying to her, and was disappointed to find
, she had already discounted Its value in tho
pages of books. She hoped to find a VAGUE
, freedom in this unconventional life thu,
opened to her OF rather to show Others
that she knew how intel!igcntlv to appre
Ciate il, but as vet she was only able TO eV.
press it i'll the one detail OF dress already
alluded TO. Some of the men, and nearly
all of the women, she had met thus Ear,
she was amazed to find, valued the conveu.
tiOnalities she believed she dcSplsed, and
were voluntarily assuming the chains Sh,
]
ing anything from them, these children
OF nature had bored her with eager ques
tiOnings regarding the civilization she had
abandoned, or irritatcd her with crude i'm.
ItatiOns of it for her benefit. Fancy. "
she had written toa friend in Boston, my
calling on sue Murphy, who remembered
the bonner tragedy, and who once shot Il
grizzly that was prowling round her cabin,
aud think OF her begging Tue TO lend her
my sack for a pattern, and wanting To
know if 'pOlOnays' were still worn" She
remembered more bitterly the romance
that had tiCkled her earlier fancy, told OF
two college friends OF her brOther-ln. law :
who were living the perfect litc' in the
mines, labOring in the bitches with a copy
of Homer in their pockets, and writing
letters of the purest philosophy under the
free air of the pines. How, coming uneN-
pectedly on them in their Arcadia, the
party found them unpreSentable through
dirt. and thenCetOrth unknOwable through
domestic complications that had filled
! their Arcadian cabin with halt-bred
children.
! Much of this diSillusOn she had kept
within her own heart, from feeling OF
pride, or only lightly touched upon 1t III
her relations with her mother and sister.
| For Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Scott had no idols
to shatter, no enthusiasm to subdue
Firmly and uualterahly conscious Of their
own superiority 10 the life they led and
the community that surrounded them,
they accepted their duties checrlully, aud
performed them COnScicntiously. Those
duties were loyalty to llale's interests and
a vague missionary work among the neigh
bors, which, like most missionary work,
consisted rather in making their own ideas
understood than in understanding the
ideas of their audience. Old Mrs. SCOTS
zeal was partly religious, an inheritance
from her Puritan ancestry; Mrs. Hale's
was the ailability OF a gentle woman and
the obligation OF her position. To this was
added the Slight languur of the cultivated
American wife, whose health has been al
fccted by the birth of her first child and
whose views Of marriage and maternity
were slightly tinged with gentle scepticlSm.
She WAS sincerely attached to her husband, !
who dominated the household like the |
4. l. Il